Marvel Comics announces new digital initiative, breaks Comixology

The comic book industry is still trying to work out the kinks in the transition from print to digital, but Marvel Comics has taken an especially active role in exploring the possibilities that new technology affords. After a week of teases, Marvel Comics announced a new digital comics initiative at SXSW on Sunday, which includes comics with music (“Project Gamma”), four new Infinite Comics limited series (starting with Jason Aaron, Jason Latour, and Paco Diaz’s Wolverine: Japan’s Most Wanted in June), and a promotion on Comixology that was supposed to make 700 first issues available for free for 48 hours. Unfortunately, the sudden influx of purchases overloaded the Comixology server, effectively shutting down the largest digital-comics marketplace around and forcing Comixology to put the brakes on the offer. Readers can go here to be notified when the Marvel promotion begins again—though given the circumstances, maybe Marvel should consider staggering the releases, rather than dumping them all at once. In the meantime, people can continue to buy comics on paper.